'He's got excellent reviews' - Dowson delighted to bring West to Saints

And the Saints boss can't wait to see what West can do in black, green and gold.

The 28-year-old front row will arrive at cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens from Gallagher Premiership rivals Saracens this summer, having also had stints with Wasps and Leicester Tigers during his career so far.

West worked his way through Wasps’ Academy system while a student at Radley College, signing his first professional contract in 2015 and heading out on loan to Henley Hawks and then Nottingham Rugby before making his senior Wasps bow during the 2017/18 campaign.

In all, the 6ft 1ins, 117kg prop made 78 appearances in Wasps colours before the club went into administration, while also enjoying a successful World Rugby Under-20 Championship campaign with England.

West signed a short-term contract with Tigers to finish the 2022/23 season, making 11 appearances in total for Leicester, before moving to North London in July 2023 where he has played 11 times for Saracens so far this term.

And Dowson said: “There are some big changes coming in our loosehead department next season with Alex and Ethan Waller retiring, so we’re delighted to be bringing Tom into the squad.

“We’re very excited about the partnership that Manny Iyogun and Tarek Haffar are forming in that space, and we have a lot of depth there already with the likes of Trevor Davison, Elliot Millar Mills and Luke Green all able to play on both sides of the scrum.

“But we also wanted to bring someone else in to compete hard with those guys for a place in the team, and to bring some experience to the whole front row group.

“Tom is a guy with a great attitude who is really keen to improve and compete.

"He’s got excellent reviews from all the clubs he’s been at, he’s a really physical player who has played a lot of Premiership matches, and he still has some growth in him as well – all of which is really exciting for us.”